Why do those who preach against the night ignore the psychological costs of being deprived-through sleep-of this most intense and intellectually fertile interval in every circadian cycle? The armistice between twilight and dawn cannot be compared to any other mode of existence. Contrary to what science informs me, my energy levels are highest late at night, between 1 and 3 a.m. The scientific studies that warn of the increased risk of these diseases for night owls may be right, but they don’t say everything that needs to be said about my body, let alone my soul. We are informed that those who stay awake until dawn are liable to experience all kinds of morbidities: hyperglycemia, heart disease, even diabetes. Time and again, we read about the health benefits of getting up early and going to sleep early. Even medical science would seem to contradict me.

In my preference for evenings over mornings and for twilights over daybreaks, I often feel alone. With its workaday routines and its drumbeat of inevitability, morning brings this illusion to an end. I love the horizons they expose, showing us that anything can happen and nothing is foretold. The break of dawn marks the end of peace, but the silence of the night marks its beginning. The surreal quiet in the middle of the night echoes the peace of early morning, near the break of dawn, with a difference. I love the peace that overtakes my apartment in the stillness of the night, when the streets are empty and everyone is absorbed in dreams. Not awake any time, but specifically at that time when, according to the world, I should be sleeping. So I love being awake even more than I love being asleep. But in order to appreciate the possibilities created by sleep, it is necessary to be awake. As Blanchot said, sleep transforms night into possibility.

My Poems... by Marina Tsvetaeva